The official, unofficial blog of Avalanche Software employees.
Avalanche is a game development studio. We created the Tak and the Power of Juju property for Nickelodeon and we were recently acquired by Disney. We are currently creating new properties and developing games based on Disney Feature Animation films.
This blog is a vehicle to help keep us creatively fresh and help us sharpen our skills... but mostly for fun.

December 20, 2007

Since I didn't post in time for a holiday-themed topic, we'll at least do something for winter. This topic is based on a fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson, you can read about it here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Snow_Queen

Although I figure people don't need to know the story: just come up with a Snow Queen, her court, her minions, or castle. Be creative and enjoy!

December 12, 2007

Having recently been forced from his home in the dwindling woods, Aberfeldy found a place to stay in a nearby garden. When news spread that a new brownie was in the area he was invited to join the local troop. Not one to quibble over the difference between brownies and gnomes, he graciously accepted the invitation (and the special miniature boxes of cookies). He did find the uniform a tad itchy however.

December 10, 2007

When this topic came up I looked but couldn't find any good reference of gnomes or other woodfolk. So I went out to my garden, set some traps and got this guy. He was a mean little bugger, biting and scratching until I got him drugged and tied up in my basement for a good sit down portrait session. This live gnome is now available on Ebay, free shipping!

My thoughts behind this character are that he can get around in tight spaces to solve puzzles n what not. He uses his handy "tailor" tools to pick locks(pins n needles), cut...stuff(scissors), make traps(knitting tools) and ...that's about it.

November 01, 2007

I was a bit surprised and disappointed to find out that hardly any of my nearby coworkers had seen The Witches, a movie based on a Roald Dahl book. Anjelica Huston has always played an excellent witch. I wonder how comfortable she is with that fact.

Time to give people a break, so we're just going to have people post their designs they've been doing/will do for the character design workshop. You can post your entire progression of drawings, or just post the final results.

For those who haven't been able to attend and would like to catch up, this was the assignment.Design one of the following animals:

Squirrel

Badger

Muskrat

With all the following parameters:Audience: Ages 7-11, mixed boys and girlsPurpose: Should fill a "helper" role in an action/adventure game. Character must be able to dispense advice in some way, as well as perform limited actions to help the playerDesign in a different style than you are confident with

We then took our designs through four filters, one at a time: Contrast, Novelty, Story, and Style. If you want to try yourself and need more explanation, come talk to me.

October 22, 2007

As usual, a day late and a dollar short.This is more of a study on the possible look of a real witch, which is essentially a old woman on a broom. It sounds ridiculous, I remain skeptical as to their actual existence.

October 15, 2007

Minerva Oakgriddle, 3rd eldest in the Witch's Woggle of East Wood, has over three hundred year's experience in malevolent baking. Her pies and dumplings were once legendary throughout the Woggle community.

Unfortunately, seventy years ago she burnt off the tip of her tongue in an ill-advised taste testing, so when you visit, keep your cat handy. A quick forkful under the table when Minerva isn't looking will likely save you hours of agony later on.

October 12, 2007

ok so this isn't technically a "woggle" and it isn't a sweet design like most of the other ones that have been posted. I was just trying a few new painting techniques, most of them unsuccessfully. So I apologize you all get to view my vomitous experiments.

Um, so I have a thing for all things Halloween. . . So, I did this piece on my own, just because. And since one of the characters is witch-like, I thought I'd add it. . . I'm sure I'll have more. I know this because I'm working on more, not because I'm clairvoyant.

October 04, 2007

This topic idea from the excellent children's book by Adrienne Adams that tells about a group of witches (multiple witches=woggle, like a gaggle of geese) that live together in the forest, fly around on brooms, and cook up spiderweb bread and cauldrons of bat stew.

I know we can construct a really fun group, family, or organization of witches, so have fun and be creative!

I guess it would look bad if I suggested the topic that killed off the blog, and then didn't even have the decency to do a football picture myself. So here you go. Come on, people. Football isn't that bad of a topic.

September 14, 2007

It's that time of year when roaring stadiums filled with rabid, chest-painted, wig-wearing fans cheer on their favorite sport. Love it or hate it, it has become an integral part of our culture.So here's your chance to extol the glorious virtues of football, or mock the stupidity of the sport and its fans. Or just about anything else you think applies here works fine, too.

September 13, 2007

As I perused the legions of fantasy art online, I learned a few things; you don't have to worry about anatomy, color relativity is irrelevant, shiny metal and ethereal backgrounds are key elements to any fantasy piece, and fairies either cry or pose seductively. Since Scott has done such a fabulous job with all the rules but one, I thought I'd cover the one he missed.

Then I got to asking. Why do fairies cry? What gives them blue skin? What's up with the uprooted plant? Why does Wynona Ryder always come to mind when I think of what a fairy would look like? Why did I actually spend time painting a fairy? I could only justify painting her by putting skulls in her wings. . . Skulls make it alright.

September 12, 2007

Rule #5: Truly awful fantasy art gives no regard to personality in female characters, instead opting for the "hotness quotient," by designing women who have the features of multiple supermodels combined. This invariably results in a character with the mental prowess of a wet toothpick.